The Cornwall Challenge:
Are You Up to It?

THE 2001 COUNTRYSIDE EXCHANGE
A Program of Glynwood Center

Introduction

Community Description
Community Issues
Sample Itinerary
Exchange Team Biographies

Exchange Team Report

Issue 1: Land Use Planning and Zoning
Issue 2: Economic Development
Issue 3: Youth Activities
Issue 4: Natural Environment

General Appendix

Introduction

The Countryside Exchange brings together international teams of volunteer professionals to work with communities on their most important issues. Those issues usually center around conservation and economic development. The Exchange is a catalyst. It uses a visit by an objective team of “outsiders” to identify a wide range of potential solutions, create diverse coalitions, spur the emergence of new leaders and inspire collaborative action. The community also benefits from new ideas, networks and information that it can use to help shape its future.

Since 1987, more than ninety communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan have hosted a Countryside Exchange. Over 600 professionals from England, Scotland, Wales, the United States, Canada, Japan, France, the Netherlands and Australia have participated as team members.

How Does the Exchange Work?

Communities are selected to participate in the Countryside Exchange through a competitive application process. Glynwood Center evaluates proposals based on such criteria as the depth of interest within the community, existing leadership and leadership skills and the strength and diversity of community members supporting the application. Applicants must also demonstrate flexibility, a willingness to learn new skills and processes and show commitment to working as a team and to developing a community based implementation strategy after the Exchange.

Once a community is selected, a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is formed. The LOC is crucial to the success of the Exchange and must include a representative cross section of the community – business owners, farmers, developers, elected officials, conservationists and “average citizens.” The LOC identifies and refines the questions that the Exchange team will address. It also plans the Exchange week itinerary, takes care of logistics and handles publicity. After the Exchange, the LOC helps initiate implementation efforts.

Because the team is only in the community for seven days, thorough preparation by the LOC is critical. Glynwood Center provides a detailed handbook for local organizers. Glynwood staff attends several of the planning meetings and offers guidance on a whole range of Exchange preparations.

The Exchange Team

Glynwood Center draws upon its extensive international network to form teams consisting of six to eight experienced professionals. Each team is international and interdisciplinary in its makeup. Team members are selected by matching a candidate’s expertise with the issues identified by the community. In order to ensure that teams are objective, participants must have had no previous connection to the host community.

The team spends a very intense week in the community. A full itinerary of issue oriented roundtables, presentations, tours, panel discussions and community gatherings gives the team an opportunity to speak with many residents, officials and organizations. The week culminates with the team presenting its observations and ideas at a public forum. A summary report is also published to assist the community with implementation.

Implementation

After the Exchange week, the team report is distributed throughout the community as a first step towards developing an implementation strategy. Most Exchange reports include some forty recommendations and determining priorities is one of the most important tasks facing the community. Glynwood Center continues to provide support during this period and offers a training workshop tailored to the community’s needs approximately six months after the Exchange week. Community representatives are also invited to an annual training seminar. Glynwood maintains contact with its “Family of Exchange Communities” through its web site, www.glynwood.org, Update Newsletter, database and ongoing personal contact.

The Results

Just as communities vary, so do the results of each Exchange. Some team recommendations may be broad, others very specific. Some may be small-scale projects that can be implemented quickly. Others may be larger, requiring a policy change, a significant philosophical shift – and time. In some cases, the Exchange may trigger a change that the community widely acknowledged was needed. The report may articulate an issue that leads to community discussion and an alternate solution. What most Exchange communities share in common is that the new and strengthened partnerships, expanded leadership base and collaborative action cultivated through the Exchange pay dividends long into the future.

The Exchange in Cornwall, New York (top of page)

Community Description

In September 1609, Henry Hudson, an English navigator in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, anchored his tiny ship, the Half Moon in Cornwall Bay. A member of the crew recorded in his journal, “This is a very pleasant place to build a town on.” Cornwall was founded in 1788 and in 1864, the first permanent settlement was established. During the ensuing 50 years, English and Scotch families came to the flat tableland above the river meadows, naming it “New Cornwall” because of the marked similarity to the terrain of Cornwallshire, England.

The Town of Cornwall, as it stands today, is much smaller in area than it was at the time of its organization. Cornwall is a small town of 31 square miles in Orange County, New York, with a population of approximately 12,000, situated in the valley formed by Schunemunk Mountain and the Hudson Highland ridges along the Hudson River. Two state highways run through Cornwall, Rte. 32 and Rte. 9W. Conrail operates a freight line along the river and there is a Metro North station providing service to New York City via Hoboken, at the western edge of Cornwall.

Cornwall encompasses the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, as well as the historic hamlets of Bethlehem, Mountainville, Salisbury Mills, Canterbury and Idlewild. It once had a thriving commercial district on the river, Cornwall Landing, which included a famous house-building company, Mead and Taft. Cornwall’s neighbors include the United States Military Academy at West Point and Stewart International Airport in New Windsor.

Cornwall’s commercial area runs along Main and Hudson Streets. This sector hosts a variety of retail and service businesses. Houses and empty buildings are also scattered throughout this business district. Residents do much of their shopping outside of town.

Many organizations help create a vibrant community. The business people generously support town activities. Cornwall hosts some excellent festivals and celebrations, including RiverFest, the Independence Day Celebration and the Fall Festival, a street festival showcasing local businesses. The town has strong, independent recreation programs in baseball, basketball, football and soccer as well as programs for Seniors. Adjacent to the Town Hall property are the Little League Complex, a pool and playground, built by town residents.

Cornwall is fortunate to have its own hospital and weekly newspaper. Cornwall is also home to the world-renowned Storm King Art Center, the Museum of the Hudson Highlands, the Black Rock Forest and a new public library. In addition to the public school system, two private schools, New York Military Academy and Storm King School and one parochial school, St. Thomas Canterbury, make their home in Cornwall.

Several issues are facing Cornwall at this time and they are heavily interdependent. The town needs more commercial ratables to ease the tax burden on the homeowner, however, people move to or stay in Cornwall for the rural charm and scenic landscape it offers. There is no significant industry in Cornwall and regional economic development resources are limited, at best. The business district is in need of revitalization to keep existing businesses and attract new ones. There is a desire to expand tourism to provide more opportunities for businesses, but good public transportation is not in place. There are some excellent cultural, historical and natural resources that could be further utilized. There are some solid youth programs, but more is needed especially for the teenage population.

Community Issues (top of page)

Given these concerns, the Cornwall Business Association and the Town of Cornwall Economic Development Advisory Committee worked with a variety of community groups and residents to form the Local Organizing Committee. The LOC held several public meetings and generated the following questions for the team to address:

1. How can we promote economic development in Cornwall in a way that is both acceptable and beneficial to residents and businesses?
   • How can we identify and attract new ratables to offset Cornwall’s high taxes based primarily from a residential tax base? How can we change the perception that Cornwall does not welcome new business?
   • How can we revitalize our central business districts along Main and Hudson Streets? How do we retain current businesses and attract new ones?
   • What type of businesses will most likely succeed?
   • Is limited parking an issue? If so, how can we increase parking and better handle traffic flow? Is our lack of public transportation an issue in promoting and retaining business?
   • With our new high school scheduled to open outside the central area of our town, how can we make up for the lost business traffic that will ensue?
   • Should we promote tourism as a way to bring in new customers and new businesses? How do we capitalize on our tourist attractions as well as the major tourist attractions of Woodbury Commons and West Point?
2. How can we enhance our Zoning Guidelines to allow for smart growth and land use planning?
   • How can we balance and integrate high quality landscapes and economic activity?
   • How can we identify appropriate areas for growth and activity as well as appropriate areas for open space preservation?
   • How do we preserve our rural charm and scenic landscapes and protect our open space from excessive residential development?
   • How do we identify and designate properties and areas for historic preservation and convey the importance of same?
3. How can we develop more recreational and social activities for the youth in Cornwall?
   • Should we establish a youth center?
   • What sort of activities would encourage the youth to make use of the center?
   • Can we use our existing athletic facilities more efficiently? Should we add new ones and if so, where? How much space should be dedicated to recreation?
   • What programs have been successful for teen recreation?
4. How can we best preserve and improve the health of our environment and scenic beauty in and around the town to make Cornwall a better place to live and work?
   • How do we protect our natural resources, particularly our streams, river and forest areas, from the effects of growth?
   • We are fortunate to have many natural and cultural resources in Cornwall, including the Hudson River, Storm King and Schunemunk Mountains, Black Rock Forest, the Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Mineral Springs Falls, local art galleries and the Storm King Art Center among others. How can we improve public awareness and access to these existing resources so that more residents can enjoy them? How can we better utilize these resources and provide more enrichment to our community?
   • How should we promote these resources?

A Sample Itinerary: Three Days from the Cornwall Challenge (top of page)

Saturday, October 13

• Black Rock Forest and Science Center Tour
• Roundtable discussion with Cornwall Town Board and Cornwall on Hudson Village Boards
• Roundtable discussion with Planning and Zoning Boards
• Open Public Meeting

Monday, October 15

• Pastors’ Meeting with representatives of local churches
• Willow Ave School – lunch and informal conversation with students
• Realtors, developers, contractors meeting
• Meeting with Town and Village Police and Emergency Services
• Meeting with Public Works Department
• Economic Development Meeting

Tuesday, October 16

• Hang out at bridge – Cornwall Central High School
• Lunch and informal conversation with students
• Public Youth Roundtable
• Meeting with School Administration and School Board
• Cornwall Business Association Meeting and Dinner

The Cornwall Challenge Exchange Team (top of page)

Cheryl Brine is an Economic Development Consultant for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. She has fourteen years of experience in community development, facilitation, main street revitalization, and visioning for communities. She is responsible for helping municipalities recruit new businesses to an area, devising strategies to retain businesses already located there and creating networks of governmental and private agencies to support community efforts to revitalize their economic base.

Katherine Brower is a certified planner and freelance photographer. In her work as an Assistant Project Manager for Project for Public Spaces in New York she has worked on issues involving land use, environmental review, park planning and transit design. Before joining Project for Public Space, Kate worked as the Associate Director of Bronx Parks Research where she directed, coordinated and wrote a report for the use of Van Cortlandt Park that examined user groups and recommended future programming, spatial and physical improvements.

Jenny Carlile is an Historic Areas Advisor with English Heritage. She is based in Cambridge and has responsibility for the East of England region. Jenny is qualified as a Planner and specializes in rural areas and small market towns. She is mainly concerned with the planning, conservation, enhancement and economic well being of places with high natural and economic values

Pete Frost works as a Senior Interpretation and Community Action Officer with the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), a statutory body responsible for conserving the aesthetic quality of the landscape and the diversity and richness of the wildlife of Wales. Pete’s principal responsibilities are to promote the interpretation of the Welsh natural environment for public enjoyment and environmental understanding.

David Herd is a Senior Countryside Officer with the Countryside Agency and is based in East Midlands in Nottinghamshire. He is also Lead Regional Officer for the Market Towns Initiative. He has a background in building construction with the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas where he worked for thirteen years. He has worked with the Local Heritage Initiative that is designed to help communities conserve their cultural, built, archaeological, and natural heritage. He has experience in rural regeneration, economic development, built heritage, rural transport, and community development.

Johanna Rosier is the Coordinator for the Postgraduate Planning Program and a Senior Lecturer in Planning for the School of Resource and Environmental Planning with Massey University in New Zealand. She works with a myriad of organizations concerning interdisciplinary environmental research. Her main areas of expertise include land use planning and design, natural resource protection, park management and tourism.

Janet Watson is a National Policy Officer for the National Forum for the Development of Rural Youth, a voluntary charitable organization that aims to raise, develop, and maintain awareness of issues affecting young people. Janet was a County Officer with the Youth & Community Play Service for Nottinghamshire County Council for twelve years. In this senior management position, she had management responsibility for a large program concerned with youth and community issues including work with the disaffected, hard to reach, unemployed, and excluded young people.

Gay Wells is the Economic Development Officer for the Cape Cod Commission in Massachusetts where she also served as a regional land use planner and as a Project Manager for regulatory review of Developments of Regional Impact. She is currently working with the Town of Bourne to revitalize that community’s downtown and reenergize its residents. She was also a Special Projects Manager for the Downtown Development Authority for Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Countryside Exchange Team Report (top of page)

Introduction

From October 12 – 18, 2001, the Cornwall Challenge Countryside Exchange team visited Cornwall, New York. The community asked the team to help them find ways to revitalize the downtown business district, preserve the community’s natural resources, encourage better land use planning and develop programs for youths. The team was composed of 8 professionals who had not met before and who were not being paid for their services. Their role was to provide an independent, fresh perspective on the questions identified by the LOC and not to be influenced by any factions or interest groups. The team traveled together during the week and split only once to enable a delegation to pay their respects at the memorial service for Firefighter Kenneth Kumpel.

During the week, the team attended 27 meetings and round table discussions and met with a variety of community groups and residents. These included: the Cornwall Conservation Advisory Committee; Town and Village Planning and Zoning Boards; pastors, artists, Seniors (via visits and round tables); librarians; Economic Development Committee and the local Chamber of Commerce; Cornwall Business Association and Lions Club; school administrators and School Board; and young people (via school visits, street discussions and round tables). In addition, the team took driving tours of the Greater Cornwall area and immediate surroundings. They toured the Town and Village on foot, Storm King Arts Center, Black Rock Forest, and the waterfront. The team interviewed fellow diners while they ate in a number or local restaurants, cafes, clubs and the school cafeteria. In all, the team spoke to around 300 people over the course of the Challenge.

The team prepared specifically for each event and carefully tailored their approach to each group in order to obtain the most relevant information. In addition, youth provided their opinions via questionnaires prior to meetings. The team reviewed all results and consensus was reached on all recommendations.

This report provides specific, evidence-based recommendations in response to questions posed by the Local Organizing Committee. Overall, the team identified some over-arching recommendations, which are set forth here, but discussed in more detail later.

The community of Cornwall must come together to:

• Take control of change, instead of reacting to it.
• Enable citizens to actively participate rather than passively observe.
• Respect and actively seek everyone’s opinion, regardless of age, sex, race and wealth. Don’t rely only on the voices of the articulate and determined.
• Capitalize on the high quality of life in Cornwall, but don’t compromise the high quality environment.
• Seek the assistance of professionals with independent viewpoints – don’t accept assumptions.
• If you tried it before and it didn’t work, try it again, because it just might work the second time around.
• Invest in leadership training for all elected and appointed officials.
• Build partnerships, don’t go it alone.
• Above all, Greater Cornwall must act as a single entity, regardless of political and social boundaries.

Issue One: Land Use Planning and Zoning (top of page)

Observations

Preservation and development are perceived in Greater Cornwall as being in opposition to one another. Many of the local residents see preservation as being unproductive because protected areas generate no tax revenue. They believe that development is good because it provides tax revenue for necessary services that support the community. However, residential development often costs more to service than it generates in tax revenue and some municipal services, particularly schools are strained at present. Commercial development does provide jobs and positive tax revenue, but residents often block it.

The community believes that it is at the mercy of developers and has no ability to specify the exact nature of the proposed use, its siting or its visual appearance. As a result, the community feels helpless, unable to shape its own future. New development must be sensitive to the cultural landscape, paying special consideration to the unique features of the natural and built environment. In the countryside these would include elements such as stonewalls, small fields, woods and orchards, together with the farms and barnyards. In the built up areas, the combined effect of an eclectic mix of architectural styles, materials and building heights form a unique downtown character. The local area has a distinctive architectural tradition that should not be diluted by the introduction of inappropriate housing styles.

There is a perception that if land is zoned for a particular use, the right developer will come along, but too often a development proposal is stopped by a few self-interested parties. Developers are wary of lawsuits and the actions of these few self-interested parties often drive potential investors away. Representatives of developers’ groups confirmed that if it looks like opposition groups will hold them up during the early stage of the development process, they will walk away.

There is also a perception that there is no room left in the Village for new development and that a Master Plan is not needed. The Town currently has an unadopted Master Plan that is 9 years old. Despite a 50% growth in population between 1990 and 2000, public opinion is mixed regarding the extent to which the plan should be revised. Some residents suggested that a comprehensive approach is needed to manage this growth. Others think that with minimal updating, the existing master plan and zoning regulations are sufficient. A new master plan will also help shape a social and economic vision for the Town and establish goals and policies for the future.

The community is aware that it has a unique identity, but this has yet to be defined.. When asked to identify the local character of their community, people spoke of the small businesses, the pedestrian oriented and architecturally district Main Street, Cornwall’s wooded hills, the riverfront and historical events. Without exception, people placed great value on Cornwall’s downtown shopping facilities and expressed an interest in seeing these extended to include a wider range of products.

Strengthening Greater Cornwall’s sense of identity will help to support the local economy by making it attractive for businesses to locate there and reinforcing the quality of life that is attractive for investors. But, before this cultural landscape can be respected and protected it needs to be identified through survey and analysis. Many municipalities in New York State are trying to attract clean industry and hi-tech businesses and are competing with each other for private investment. By offering a good quality of life in beautiful surroundings, Cornwall has a head start, but it must be welcoming. Greater Cornwall has to work in partnership with developers and provide incentives, such as infrastructure.

There is an urgent need to create more space for schools to meet current and future needs for all grades, but particularly for the high school. There is overriding agreement in Greater Cornwall that immediate action is necessary, yet distrust prevents the community from moving forward. Present proposals to site the new High School on Route 94 appear to be in conflict with well-established planning principles to stop sprawl and create community identity. In addition, it will separate the school from the activities downtown. There appear to be two primary issues: first, conflict about the process of the selection of the site on Route 94; and secondly an incompleteness of information and analysis to justify this decision. These two factors have made the decision to site the school on Route 94 hard for the community to accept.

Other infrastructure also needs improvement. It is apparent that the overhead electrical cable system is very old. Some electrical poles appear to be overloaded and some are leaning, which may present a dangerous situation. Under grounding these cables have long been recognized was a worthwhile project, but it is a massive and expensive initiative.

Recommendations

1. Set up a Joint Planning Review Committee to coordinate the Master Plan and Zoning Reviews. It should be made up of residents including young people and seniors, businesses, government officials, artists and other community stakeholders from Greater Cornwall.
2. Hire a full time planner or a professional planning firm with expertise in participatory processes. It is essential that Greater Cornwall utilize the services of professional planners to guide a community based visioning and master planning process.
3. Involve the whole community from the beginning. It is vital that the review of the master plan be fully supported by the community and meets its needs. Provide opportunities for all segments of the public to shape the plan and to express their opinions, not only in a series of public forums, but also in seminars or workshops that target specific groups.
4. Identify and designate key activity areas around which additional growth and activity should be concentrated. These nodes could include a civic center, business and shopping areas, multi-modal transportation areas, waterfront and recreation areas. Mixed-use development should be encouraged to attract higher densities and a diverse range of economic and social activities. Contextual infill development should be encouraged to strengthen existing uses. These nodes can be designated with special overlay districts.
5. Establish finer grain detail for new uses permitted within existing zones. The planning tools in use do not facilitate development that is needed to underpin an economic initiative based on service to visitors. Provisions relating to B&Bs and other types of facilities need to be relaxed. Home occupation and other provisions cause difficulties for artists and professionals who want to work in close proximity to their homes. Regulations should also be created to ensure compliance with the American Disabilities Act.
6. Re-visit the Cornwall Village Design Plan. Up-date this document, which was prepared in 1959, and take new photos to match those taken earlier. As Norman Klein Associates have already set out a format in this document, the survey work could be done by a committed selection of youth, adults and Seniors, with professional historians and architects within the community offering their time to the project.
7. Display art exhibitions that explore Cornwall’s past and future streetscape and landscape. Exhibits could include the original photographs from the 1959 building survey done as part of the Cornwall Village Design Plan. These photographs could be exhibited together with the new photographs of the same buildings, as well as the archival drawings depicting the street elevations in the Village to highlight the changes there have been over the last 40 years. Consider recruiting high school and other students to take the photos. Another exhibition could explore people’s vision for the future of Cornwall. Use the enthusiasm generated to provide ideas and generate support for improvements to Greater Cornwall’s central business district and beyond.
8. Hold an architectural and urban design workshop to develop guidelines for new development downtown that will be compatible with and reinforce existing architectural styles and special features.
9. Do a survey of the buildings within the central business districts on Main Street and Hudson. This would be linked to the Design Plan. It would identify materials (roof, walls, windows & doors); scale (number of stores, plot width); architectural style; storefront style and materials (19th century, early 20th century, timber, metal, vinyl); signage (individual / corporate / above storefront / glass / shingle); vacancies; detracting features, etc. Pick out the more interesting buildings that merit further historical and architectural research. Identify buildings that can serve as good examples of restoration and those that present opportunities for improvement.
10. Include an Economic Development Element that would specify goals and policies, a marketing strategy that identifies desired businesses and provides incentives for these types of businesses to locate in Greater Cornwall. Incentives could include tax incentives – income tax credits or rebates and deferral or forgiveness of real property taxes – density bonuses, and historic improvement tax credits. Financing incentives (grants or loan guarantees) could be provided to the developer or to the user, or the municipalities could serve as a direct financier in certain limited instances.
11. Include a Capital Facilities and Infrastructure Element in the revised Master Plan(s) and the annual budget(s) as well as provide a short-term and long-term Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) for capital facilities and infrastructure in Greater Cornwall. The CIP(s) should identify needed infrastructure, including high-speed communications infrastructure, establish priorities for its provision, and identify funding strategies and sources. The CIP should also identify land for future municipal facilities and services and establish a strategy and funding sources to reserve needed land for the future.
12. Adopt the Master Plan. A formally adopted master plan will provide a rational strategy for controlling and directing development. The adoption of the plan will also serve to reassure the development community that certain types of growth are welcome in Cornwall.
13. Revise and adopt zoning regulations that implement the adopted master plan.
14. Establish “Development Agreements” for selected new mixed-use office park/ commercial overlay districts, as designated in the new Master Plan(s). Development Agreements are a form of streamlined permitting and establish in advance the allowed land uses, rules and regulations, environmental protection requirements, and design guidelines. Development that meets the requirements will go through limited permitting review. Designing an effective and binding Development Agreement is a complex legal process that requires the services of an attorney with land use, environmental, and permitting expertise, but is an effective way to encourage new business development.
15. Through the Master Planning process, identify opportunities for communication, collaboration, and/or membership with government departments and community groups, business organizations, and private citizens, as well as other municipalities, regional, state, and federal agencies.
16. As part of the planning process, establish an Orientation Series for new residents and business people regarding government departments, procedures, available resources, and opportunities for involvement and volunteerism within the Greater Cornwall community.
17. Prepare and maintain a Greater Cornwall geographic based information system (GIS) of built and natural land use and characteristics. GIS has become a valuable tool to analyze a range of data. This analysis should form the basis for all land use decisions. This information system should be built on information that is currently available in the zoning plan, infrastructure plans prepared by all levels of government, the business sector and the trails conference plans. Suggested layers should include, but not be limited to:
    • Built land uses: property tax lots; building foot prints; streets and roads (local, county, and state); property ownership; streetscape amenities and features; building type and use; and jurisdictional boundaries within Cornwall and the region; and
    • Natural land uses: landscape characteristics; cultural and historic features; wildlife habitats, rivers, streams and hydrology; topography; roads, trails and human structures; and publicly accessible land.
18. Major development proposals must meaningfully involve the public. Projects such as the high school, which consume large quantities of land in undeveloped areas with a lack of infrastructure, may dramatically reshape the nature of the community. Relationships have suffered as a result of poor communication and lack of co-ordination between the needs of the school district and those of the local municipalities. The process must meaningfully include the residents of Greater Cornwall. Simply providing information is not enough.
19. Collate information relating to the history of Greater Cornwall. Put together a historical leaflet that relates to the Greater Cornwall’s architectural variety and style – not just for the main streets but include other areas such as Substitution Road and Kenridge Farm.

Issue Two: Economic Development – Business, Tourism and Transportation (top of page)

Business Observations

Greater Cornwall has a wealth of assets to drive economic development in both the Town and the Village. The lack of overall strategic planning for Greater Cornwall, however, has a direct impact on its ability to promote economic development both for smaller commercial areas, as well as for potential larger commercial projects. Through a series of meetings with various town boards and personnel, it appears that coordination within departments and outside agencies appears to be limited. Consequently, the lack of connections, partnerships, and collaborative efforts between government agencies limits the possibilities of receiving outside funding for much-needed programs.

The extraordinary natural scenic and recreational opportunities create a local setting that is highly desirable for people to live and work, as well as for tourism. It is important to bring well-paying, year-round jobs to people in a variety of employment sectors and Greater Cornwall has a diversity of strengths to make this possible. Solutions to employment are being sought through the Cornwall Challenge. The strongest asset Greater Cornwall has is its citizens and business people with their desire for managed growth and increasing prosperity, while retaining their valued quality of life. The local governments of Greater Cornwall must capitalize on the sense of community among its residents and business people to create partnerships in order to reach economic development goals.

While people in Greater Cornwall have demonstrated loyalty to their Town and Village, and clearly enjoy their small town character, the local identity is not adequately defined. The lack of a vision for the Greater Cornwall area is reflected in the overall appearance of commercial and residential areas, which lack a clear community identity and defined civic nodes. While residents and Greater Cornwall leaders have indicated a desire for distinction and the retention of a small town community character, there is a lack of general management of the Main Street and Village areas.

The downtown areas of Greater Cornwall are very welcoming places and contain a variety of both retail and service businesses. Some very successful “niche businesses” also exist downtown. These niche businesses, such as country crafts and the bridal boutique, appear to have a strong customer following. Obviously, these niche businesses have focused on providing a product that is in demand. It would appear that expanding these niche business opportunities could contribute to the success of the downtown areas. Interspersed with this retail component are many service type businesses. Some residential sections are also situated in the downtown areas.

It is also evident that there are several empty storefronts downtown. Various citizens pointed out that many of these empty storefronts appear to have absentee landlords. These empty storefronts have decreased retail business in the downtown area and created an imbalance of retail versus service businesses, which is of concern to local residents. A deficient retail section forces the community to shop outside the local area. A marketing strategy for the downtown businesses is also lacking. This kind of strategy would assist in providing a consistent marketing theme and helping the downtown area to focus its efforts. Sometimes a common thread or look to the downtown helps to encourage local shopping, as being downtown is a more inviting experience. This common theme can be achieved very simply sometimes through the use of color.

There seems to be conflict between business development interest and the common community goals of land preservation in Greater Cornwall. This concern was evident from comments made a several public meetings. The community on one hand wants new business development, but also wants to preserve open spaces. There are ways to achieve a balance between business development and the preservation of open space. For example, many of the vacant buildings in the community could be used for new business development and reduce the need for any further development.

The community appears to be very concerned about attracting a large commercial industry/business park to the area. There are land parcels where this could be developed, but again issues around land preservation are a concern. Communities must remember that securing large industrial/commercial business is not always the best solution. Concentrating on filling local storefronts and developing small to mid-size businesses may be a more economically viable alternative for the community.

Business Recommendations:

1. Conduct a visioning process for the business community to prioritize issues and develop an action plan. The action plan should assist local businesses with concerns such as developing a downtown theme and creating a supportive environment for existing businesses.
2. Conduct an economic analysis for Greater Cornwall to help to identify leading and lagging local indicators. This process will highlight the areas that need to be addressed and ultimately assist with community growth. An economic analysis can also help identify the community’s strengths and support the development of the business sector.
3. Set up an incubator business complex that would assist new start up businesses to become established with minimal start up capital. These new businesses would share space, as well as administration and equipment resources. This activity should be located in one of the existing vacant buildings. By using vacant buildings as the site for incubator projects, many existing empty sites would once again be vibrant hubs of local business. This type of resource would also encourage new businesses to locate in the Greater Cornwall area, as a support network would be in place for them.
4. Utilize resources that are already available to assist businesses in the local area. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is available to local communities for advice and assistance with business planning. These centers would also be able to provide advice regarding start-up capital, community resources, and general business advice. This is a valuable resource and one that could be utilized more by local businesses. Perhaps a business resource center could also be established in the downtown core to provide a number of information resources (government publications etc.) for local business people. This could be housed with an existing business or in an empty storefront.
5. Focus short-term economic development goals on bringing existing vacant commercial buildings in village centers back into use for retail and small technology, medical, and office uses.
6. Compile a detailed community profile, which would highlight: vacant commercial properties, vacant commercial/business property and information dealing with business re-location. An overview of the community should also be included in this profile. This is a valuable resource for businesses that are trying to re-locate to an area that best suits their needs. Information obtained from a community profile identifies many factors that assist new and current businesses. Local demographics identified on the community profile also assist in identifying areas where niche markets might flourish. For example, businesses wanting to re-locate to Ontario, Canada utilize a website known as “Ontario Investment Service” (OIS) that lists a number of profiles from communities across the province. The “Market Towns Initiative Healthcheck (MTI)” developed by the Countryside Agency in England is a valuable resource for community led visioning.
7. Identify an “oasis” on Main Street and one in the Village where short-term improvements can be made. The “oasis” could be one building, two adjacent buildings, or a block that would receive repairs and painting, along with incorporating limited attractive design enhancements and selected color schemes. The inclusion of awnings, flowerpots or window boxes, street furniture, and attractive window dressing will help create a unified and inviting appearance. The improvements could be done by volunteers in collaboration with property owners. This would be an immediate, short-term project that will produce visible results and serve as a model and catalyst for improvements to surrounding buildings.
8. A long-term economic development goal could be to establish one or more new mixed-use office parks when the needed infrastructure has been provided. Identify potential areas for office park designation and include needed infrastructure in the long-term CIP(s), along with established priorities, a time line, and funding strategies and sources.
9. Network with other business communities and find out about their success stories. Build on what has already worked and learn how you might apply that to your own area. Work with a “sister community” like Cornwall, Ontario or England.
10. Hire an economic development staff person or consultant to help design a “concept” or “theme” for Greater Cornwall and to implement a “Main Street” initiative, a business retention program, and a marketing program for Greater Cornwall.
11. Conduct an inventory of existing businesses and a feasibility study of Main Street and the Village with regard to business development, design and other downtown issues. Suggested desired businesses identified at several public meetings include the following: women and men’s clothing, shoe stores, children’s clothing, butcher shop, bakery, international restaurants, ice cream parlor, boutiques, dress shop, take out food, hardware store, artists’ studios, art movie theatre, playhouse theatre, disco club, fruit and vegetable market, book store, antiques, small home furnishings, boating supplies, and an outfitters store. This inventory would also help to identify issues facing local businesses. This would provide a parameter for understanding the climate of the local business community and what actions need to be taken in order to ensure that they remain in the downtown core. For assistance, explore the “Business Retention & Expansion program” (BR&E) program, which has had great success in rural communities in the United States and in Canada. The BR&E program is community driven and implemented.

Tourism Observations

Greater Cornwall has already begun to establish itself as a tourist destination. The area boasts many natural resources, which will assist in the development of a tourism strategy for Greater Cornwall. Other points of interest in the vicinity are the world-renowned Storm King Art Center, the Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Kenridge Farm and West Point Military Academy. But it appears that Greater Cornwall may not be capitalizing on a key economic driver.

Greater Cornwall is an appealing “get away” from busy city life. The traditional character of the area is an inviting resource for all ages and many local businesses already benefit from “get away” traffic.

Even though the potential exists for Cornwall to become a first rate tourist destination, it remains basically an “untapped resource”. Everyone recognizes the potential of the local area, but there remains a dedication to the preservation of the natural beauty. However, there are ways that both of these goals can be achieved by capitalizing on what already exists.

There seems to be a lack of collaboration and coordination regarding the “entire picture” of tourism. Because of this lack of collaboration and coordination, there remains a large void in the marketing of “Greater Cornwall” as a tourist destination. Many of the tourism destinations in Greater Cornwall are marketed through the Orange County tourism publication. However, the area needs to adopt a marketing plan of its own to highlight the local attractions. Greater Cornwall could adopt a theme or branding identification for the area, which will help to distinguish it from other destinations in Orange County. If “theme or branding” identification existed, it would also assist the area in developing a niche market for tourists. Both of these can be included as part of an overall marketing package. Perhaps Greater Cornwall could be marketed as the “Get Away” destination in Orange County.

Building on what already exists would be a benefit to the Greater Cornwall area. There are already several special events established – The River Fest, the Fall Festival and Independence Day celebrations. Many local organizations and businesses contribute to the success of these special events.

If Greater Cornwall wants to capitalize on the tourism market they need to ensure a variety of overnight accommodations. Feedback from local citizens indicates that this is lacking in the community. If tourism is recognized as one of the key economic drivers then this will play an important role in its success.

Recommendations:

1. Develop a collaborative tourism partnership with resources already in the community.
2. Market Greater Cornwall as a weekend “Get Away” destination. Local restaurants and B&B’s should be part of this marketing strategy. Look to develop a shuttle service to pick up visitors at the train station and deliver them to various tourist destinations. At the end of the day, the shuttle would return the tourists to a local B&B for an overnight stay and dinner in a local restaurant. The shuttle could also be utilized by others in the community and this would help alleviate some of the tourism transportation issues.
3. Expand on the successes already established in the area. Currently, Cornwall has two such events to build on – the River Fest and the Fall Festival. Take steps to make these events even more successful including increased marketing, building partnerships in the community and expanding offerings at the events. Talk to other communities that have been very successful event sites. Port Elgin, Ontario hosts a “Pumpkinfest” each year and boasts an attendance record of 50,000 plus. Communities like Port Elgin may have many simple suggestions or solutions to share with you.
4. Capitalize on the resources in your community. Perhaps the local artesian community could initiate a mural painting project on various walls in Greater Cornwall. These could be used to depict the history of the local area and incorporated into a walking tour. This would be another tourist attraction to assist in the development of Greater Cornwall as a weekend “Get Away” destination. Penetanguishene, Ontario has depicted its local history through building murals and has become a popular tourist stop. The murals would also begin to assist the downtown in developing a theme.
5. Introduce a storefront scheme to be led by a team of local artists and architects. This would include new storefronts to replace inappropriate ones where the originals have been lost. Look at old photographs to identify appropriate locations. This may require a small amount of funding to encourage people to join in, but the money could be raised locally if there was enough enthusiasm.
6. The empty storefronts that are currently downtown could be used to show what a new business might actually look like at that location. Local artisans could assist the downtown in developing mock “storescapes” in these empty locations. If a bakery was needed in town, one of these empty stores could be set up to actually look like a bakery. This would help local citizens visualize how the business would fit in as part of the downtown and get more people interested in making the downtown a success.
7. Establish or strengthen on-line information of particular interest to seniors and educate them on how to access this information. Provide computer workstations at locations where seniors congregate. In addition, work with numerous agencies to plan programs and trips for seniors that will draw participants from a larger population and take advantage of economies of scale when planning for tours.
8. Install electronic information kiosks at central locations in Greater Cornwall. Include an area map of businesses, transit schedules, and area attractions. Provide space for a community bulletin board and newspaper box.
9. Underground the overhead cables. The electric company may have money available to maintain this aging system that can be used to supplement the cost of putting the cables underground. There may also be funds available at the county or regional level, through the Heritage Areas or Greenway. Alternatively, investigate the opportunity of running the wires behind the buildings on Main Street. Some communities have used this less expensive technique to improve the appearance of their downtowns.
10. Create a web site for all community and municipal activities, including links to abutting communities and regional agencies and attractions. The zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and other pertinent governmental documents and information should also be available on the Cornwall web site.
11. Maximize collaboration and cooperation between Village and Town police, fire, emergency services to free up tax revenue to fund future initiatives in providing infrastructure for a visitor industry.

Transportation Observations

At this time, transit in the Cornwall region is oriented to motorists, rather than residents and transit links and multi-modal facilities (nodes for bus, trolley, and train connections, and bicyclists, pedestrians) are not available. This creates an undesirable dependence upon the automobile, producing ever-increasing traffic congestion and a need for more parking at many locations. Parking along Main and Hudson Street is limited although there is an opportunity to increase the number of spaces in the short term through better organization and reassignment of parking for business proprietors/employees and apartment tenants

While the Village is somewhat off the beaten path, Greater Cornwall could attract the existing commuter traffic that travels through the area via Route 218. Greater Cornwall should also plan to take advantage of the potential for transit and use of the Hudson River as a future transportation route via ferries.

Interviews show that there is a particular need for public transit among the youth and senior populations, as well as residents who would welcome the opportunity to reduce traffic by taking a trolley or other means of public transportation. In addition, there is a need to provide transit, particularly on the weekends, for visitors who come by train to the area.

Transportation Recommendations:

1. Hire a transportation engineer to conduct the following four studies:
   1. Conduct a parking analysis in order to make recommendations for improvements on Main Street and in the Village. Enlist high school students to conduct a preliminary parking survey for the Main Street and Village areas. Students with math and mapping skills would be particularly helpful. Parking spaces could be indicated on a scale map, space counts taken, and potential additional parking areas could be identified. The students could also observe and record the parking habits of patrons and business people. The transportation engineer could meet with students and provide initial instruction about conducting the parking analysis.
   2. “Traffic calming” measures to slow traffic through the pedestrian areas for Main Street and the Village;
   3. A safety study examining narrowness of Main and Hudson Streets:
   4. The potential for developing a rotary near the Grand Union and fire station to provide smoother traffic circulation and allow for much-needed pedestrian crosswalks.
2. Introduce traffic calming measures to create a more pedestrian-friendly downtown area. Building out the sidewalks into the road in a few places would create “neck-downs” where it would be easier for pedestrians to cross the street. Trees could be planted here, with benches and public garbage cans grouped together around the trees to reduce clutter and to make snow-clearance easier. These “pinch-points” would create parking bays on either side of them and not reduce the width of the street.
3. Identify needed transportation infrastructure, including sidewalks, within designated Growth/Activity Centers, establish short-term and long-term priorities, and identify funding strategies and sources. Include these in the Transportation Element of the revised Master Plan and Capital Improvements Plan. See Land Use Planning section for further details.
4. Explore the creation of a trolley service, the “Cornwall Connect” that would have a regular route throughout Greater Cornwall, connecting transportation nodes and key points, such as schools, the Senior Center, senior residential developments, supermarkets, the library, Town Halls, churches, recreational locations, the riverfront, the Village and Main Street, and future mixed-use office parks. Contact abutting municipalities, as well as regional and state agencies. Include this initiative in the Transportation Element of the Master Plan(s).
5. Explore opportunities for the dredging of Cornwall Harbor and installation of a public dock with boat slips.
6. Explore the possibility of establishing a “Concierge Service” at major transportation nodes that would provide a dry cleaning drop off and pick up and other types of services for busy commuters.
7. Install more benches at transit locations.
8. Arrange with a local snack truck vendor to sell at train stations during the morning commute period.

Issue Three: Youth Activities (top of page)

Observations

Many adults and young people in Greater Cornwall are concerned that there is not enough for young people to do apart from sports, particularly in the 13-16 age-range. Some are aware of young people’s preference for unstructured activities and their need to “hang around” and have “somewhere to go”. They are also concerned about a small group of disaffected kids, some of who demonstrate their differences very prominently outside the High School, near the bridge, every day and are perceived by the police as potential troublemakers.

Greater Cornwall has a growing number of young people living in the area and this number will continue to increase, along with the need for new and different social and recreational facilities. Greater Cornwall is not alone in dealing with these new social problems of adolescents, which present many new demands and challenges. Part of the problem is that in more families, both parents have careers and working long hours away from home. Young people are returning to empty homes at the end of the school day and spending a considerable amount of time alone or with their friends. Other young people report having very full schedules. They return home after school to do homework, spend time with friends and family, listen to music, watch TV or work out. Many only have unstructured free time on the weekends. Others have jobs and are not free until 9:00 p.m. By that time, all the facilities are closed and outside lights shut off.

Some young people are experimenting and abusing alcohol and drugs, probably far more than is generally acknowledged and those with cars are able to access these controlled substances easily from nearby towns. However, there are very few young people with severe criminal problems in the area and most incidents are part of normal teenage behavior. Some parents put a great deal of time into supportive parenting, while others take parenting responsibilities less seriously and do not give time to young people or the issues affecting them. Additionally, many parents are ill equipped to handle problems associated with drug or alcohol abuse. The majority of young people the team spoke with feel the police are generally fair with them, but they are unduly hassled for relatively minor incidents and the police are too eager to move them along whenever young people gather in small groups.

There has been little long term planning in Cornwall to meet the increasing need for social, leisure, recreational and other needs. The team was told about facilities previously available for the youth – a building that was used by young people, but without supervision, and a Coffee Bar run by volunteers, which had been popular. These places eventually closed due to vandalism, lack of finance, insufficient volunteers and staff burn out.

One proposal put forward for the future development of a specific youth facility was in the Recreation Committee Report to the Town Board (Jan 28, 1999). This report proposed the development of a new Recreation Center for senior citizens and young people to be built on the present Munger Cottage site.

It is important to develop, as soon as possible, a range of facilities that will meet the needs of young people with very different interests and from different schools; one facility is not enough. It will be far less costly in the long term to invest now and enable young people to grow up into confident citizens who are positive about all that Cornwall has to offer. The alternative is to bear the costs of increasing enforcement problems and criminal justice in a few years time. The well being of young people is the greatest investment that Cornwall can make.

Assets – actual and potential

• Children and young people are generally very positive about living in Greater Cornwall. They like the friendliness of people and being able to walk into town from school.
• There are many keen adult volunteers, the majority of whom give their time generously as coaches for ball games, providing transportation and support to young people. The Cornwall Ministry, representing the majority of denominations, meets monthly and recognizes the need for an Ecumenical Youth Worker to work with “street-wise kids’ that many volunteers would find difficult to work with. Many professionals in performing and visual arts want more opportunities to work with young people both in schools and elsewhere.
• There are a significant number of ball fields for organized sports activities.
• Cornwall has superb natural features and countryside including the Black Rock Forest, mountain trails and the Hudson River.
• There are several recreation facilities in the center of Town such as The River Light Park with pond, swimming pool, children’s pool, children’s playground, Munger Cottage, Little League fields and the Library, which has considerable extra capacity space for new initiatives.
• There are attractive, safe and accessible Town and Village Centers with cafes and a gazebo bandstand that provide opportunities for people to meet up or “hang around”. There are also vacant buildings, shops and an unused cinema that could be used for new youth projects.
• Black Rock and Kendrick Farm Museums offer a wide range of educational and environmental activities, particularly for children.
• There are many organized after-school activities at Willow Avenue Elementary School.
• A range of summer programs is available, including camps and sports activities that are organized by the Recreation Department.
• There are some opportunities for young people to engage in community service through the New York Military Academy 50 hour Community Service Program, occasional conservation work at Black Rock by Cub Scouts, etc.
• There are a few facilities for other activities, including dance and music lessons, however these are provided on a fee for service basis.

Limitations of Provisions

• The needs of teenagers, particularly the 13-16 year olds who are not interested in sports or those who fail to meet the elite levels required by teams, are generally ignored. There are many adults who do not understand the concept of “hanging around” or the need to have a place to go with friends. They concur with the Police strategy of keeping youth from congregating at certain locations. Alternatively, they concede that a Youth Center for bored youngsters is needed, but this should be out of town, based in the schools and not near any of their houses or business premises.
• There has been no consultation or research undertaken with young people that analyses what activities they currently participate in, what their interests are and what form of activities they would most like. This includes pupils at the Military Academy who must have approval for activities before they are allowed to participate.
• There is a total imbalance in the allocation of resources to sports and organized activities. There is very little investment in other activities that can build self-confidence and esteem such as the performing and visual arts. There is no Community Arts Center, which could bring together the artists and the community, provide practice and rehearsal space, studios, stage and auditorium, crafts and community arts activities.
• Despite the interest in bands and choirs, there are few opportunities for young people to showcase their talents and gain experience performing regularly to the public or their peers.
• There is no public transportation to enable young people to travel easily from the Riverfront through Greater Cornwall to the malls. Consequently there are more young drivers than there need to be on the roads and more parental dependence on transportation for short distance travel. These factors add to traffic congestions, create diversionary work for the police and take up valuable parking spaces.
• There are no paid Youth Workers who are trained and skilled to work informally with groups of more disaffected young people. These workers can provide the disaffected teens with much needed support, health information and opportunities to engage in other interests. This would be more effective in the short and long term than spending more resources on police for law enforcement and containment.
• There is no young people’s coffee or juice bar that offers a safe, warm, friendly, but supportive environment where young people can meet up and also have available to them advice, information leaflets, counselors and opportunities for involvement in other activities.
• There are no “acceptable” outdoor open-sided youth shelters with seating that are also well lit, centrally located in the town area or on the Riverfront where young people could “hang around” in the evening without constant risk of public complaint and police harassment. Even the Town and Village Center benches have been removed to prevent young people from gathering.
• Vision is limited as to how more youth activities could be provided using existing facilities. There is a concept of “over capacity” in the Park when there could be room for more temporary structures that reflect the current interests of a particular group. Further use of the park by Little League is seen as a priority rather than utilizing that space for other youth facilities that are wanted, and possibly re-siting Little League to another location where there is more room for expansion.
• There are no BMX tracks, roller blade or skate board ramps within the near vicinity or sites for general games that may be used spontaneously and the expense of additional Public Liability Insurance is used as an excuse for why these facilities cannot be put into place.
• Some of the facilities available are in urgent need of repair and improvement.
• There is no coordination of volunteers and community service that could help young people find an extensive range of worthwhile voluntary tasks such as conservation and environmental projects, shopping, gardening jobs for senior citizens, fund raising for charities. Young people in Cornwall will be willing to volunteer for work of this kind if there is a “fun element” built into working together.
• There does not appear to be any Peer Education projects where young people can be trained to give sexual health, drugs and alcohol information to their peers. The schools rely on their health and character education programs, but these need to be effectively backed up with more informal advice and information systems operating within the community. Peer Education processes can be particularly effective in spreading “correct” information through the peer network, when formal education in schools on these subjects may be limited.
• The police have a limited preventative role with young people and concentrate all their involvement, apart from the DARE Project, on occasional requests for safety inputs and the canine unit. They have future roles as School Resource Officers, but they will be viewed as responsible for law enforcement rather than as sympathetic adults. They know the young people well, but use inner city policing ratios and methods for controlling minor infringements (albeit with leniency). The resources spent on this type of enforcement might be better allocated on direct preventative work provided by trained Youth Workers. The “vision” of the role that the police can play with young people is very limited at present.
• Many of the non- sporting activities that are available are seasonal or time limited. For example, the Drama Club meets for 4 months to rehearse for a show. The summer camp does not cover the 13-15 age group; and the swimming pool has a short season. There is a need for more regular clubs that target young people who simply have an interest they wish to pursue and may or may not show any obvious talent.
• There could be greater cooperation between different providers of youth activities and the schools so that teens can take advantage of the many high standard events and programs available. There is need for better coordination to ensure that the information from the Museums, music recitals, Storm King Center, Black Rock Forest, etc., is circulated to all pupils, including the Military Academy.
• Further opportunities could be taken to encourage International Youth Exchanges with a greater number of countries. This could increase international understanding, post-September 11th, for young people from Cornwall and abroad.
• There are no after school centers where young people can go to take part in a range of informal activities, relax and have light refreshments. This might fill a gap in the afternoon when they otherwise return to empty homes.

Recommendations

1. Build and manage a general purpose Youth Center that is centrally located, for example at River Light Park, and easily accessible on foot. The center should have a coffee bar, range of activity rooms and dance area and be available for after school activities and evening youth club. Young people should be involved from the very beginning with the design, planning and decoration of the facility.
2. Hire and trained Youth Workers to work with young people and assist in the organization and supervision of activities at the Center. Local youths should be involved in the recruitment process and interviews. Review current resources allocations for law enforcement pertaining to young people and redirect those resources to provide funding for Youth Workers.
3. Reconsider the proposal to have a dual facility with senior citizens. Experience elsewhere has found that interests such as decoration, furnishings, equipment needs, vandalism, etc., can be incompatible in shared premises and lead to continuous friction and complaints.
4. Acquire or build a Community Arts Center that can be the focal point of creative activities in Greater Cornwall. Establish partnerships with artists and other organizations to provide the funding.
5. Establish a coffee shop for young people and staff it with Youth Workers and volunteers. Provide advice and information on health education and other youth issues. This should be a focal point from which experienced staff can make contact with groups of disaffected young people on the streets and begin to work with them on a range of issues.
6. Encourage schools and youth groups to train young people in peer education techniques so that they can be skilled to give informal advice on issues such as drugs and alcohol.
7. Encourage the High School to extend their range of International Youth Exchanges to a wider variety of countries.
8. Fund a Youth Activities Coordinator (YAC), which could be based in the Library, who is responsible for collating information about all events and specialist activities that are open to or organized for young people. The YAC can ensure that this information is disseminated to all schools and young people in the area. Other responsibilities could include:
   1. Publishing a newsletter that is run by young people for young people;
   2. Updating a list of all youth provisions in the Greater Cornwall area on an annual basis;
   3. Assisting young people in organizing regular discussion groups about youth interests and needs;
   4. Organizing a “Befriending Scheme” that pairs young people from the High School with pupils from the Military Academy who are not returning home on the weekend to attend approved activities together; and
   5. Coordinate volunteer and community service opportunities, helping young people to identify and engage in projects that fit their skills.
9. Appoint an Ecumenical Youth Worker, through The Cornwall Ministry, who can offer a spiritual base for young people.
10. Improve existing recreational facilities. Act now to improve the freezing qualities of the pond for ice -skating; the children’s pool is in need of improvements and the surrounding area should be designed so as to minimize leaf and dirt accumulation. Also, the notices at its entrance are not customer friendly. Rewrite them so that the message is clear, but the language is less prohibitive. The swimming pool could be enlarged or fitted with a cover that might extend the season. The Little League fields need regular maintenance.
11. Develop new structures wanted by young people such as a BMX Track, Skate Board Ramp, Roller Blade Rink. Provide public liability funding so that young people can use these facilities and be prepared to erect temporary structures so that the facilities may be available while that particular interest is current.
12. Replace Town/Village benches and seating that is vandal proof and can be used and enjoyed by every one. Put up youth shelters with seating and outdoor lighting during the evening in the Park and on the Riverfront.

Issue Four: Natural Environment (top of page)

Observations

Greater Cornwall is ideally located in the Hudson Highlands with access to the Hudson River. Over one third of Greater Cornwall has been set aside for conservation and preservation of natural resources, including important attractions such as Schunemunk Mountain, Storm King, and the Black Rock Forest. Other smaller sites have also been set aside to protect wetlands and cultural resources.

The Town’s Master Plan and zoning regulations provide additional tools to preserve scenic vistas and prominent ridgelines. The Master Plan contains provisions that require the under-grounding of utilities in all new developments to protect the aesthetic qualities of the Town. Other tools include the use of vegetation buffers for new development in sensitive areas. Developers also contribute $300 per lot to a fund that is exclusively used for recreation purposes.

New wetlands have been created as mitigation for development upon existing wetlands. However, encouraging the participation of community and voluntary organizations in their management, interpretation and enjoyment could further enhance these wetlands.

The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference maps provide comprehensive information about the trails and features that may be enjoyed by walkers in the Hudson Highlands. However, there are difficulties accessing trail ends, especially for day walkers. Also, the trail maps indicate that there are considerable gaps in the system of trails, making long distance walks difficult.

Promotion of opportunities is difficult to arrange as most tourism and visitor marketing is oriented toward the larger attractions. There is significant potential in Greater Cornwall to create new jobs like guiding, transportation, equipment provision and hospitality to service people who come to meet the challenge of walking the Highlands. The team was told that people in the community were keen to help construct new trails, but there is a lack of interest in designing and supervising volunteer activities.

A number of formal and informal partnerships and alliances have formed to achieve environmental and educational objectives. The alliance of schools, colleges, universities and research institutions in the Black Rock Consortium is an excellent example of a formal partnership oriented toward environmental research, education and conservation in the Black Rock Forest. The Museum of the Hudson Highlands has formed informal relationships to develop various types of programs that provide environmental education to younger children and adults.

The team observed that many of the agencies concerned with environmental education appear to be competing against each other instead of complementing each other’s activities. The team was told that the success of youth environmental education programs is variable and depends heavily on the enthusiasm of the teachers. As there is a high turnover of teaching faculty, especially in the High School, it is difficult to coordinate consistent environmental programs.

Teachers within the Central Cornwall School District take advantage of the high quality facilities and programs offered at the above institutions at varying levels. More teachers might be encouraged to use these facilities if the centers provided programs and materials directly and explicitly linked these offerings to the local school curriculum. The School Board should also strongly recommend that teachers make use of these centers whenever possible.

The absence of a consistent database of information about Greater Cornwall’s natural resources and their capacity to provide an economic development focus creates difficulties for organizations seeking to develop local partnerships. Many developers and organizations collect and use spatial and environmental information independently of each other. This increases costs and creates barriers to communication about common approaches to dealing with important environmental and landscape issues.

Involving citizens in both planning for and monitoring environmental and quality of life indicators may alleviate part of their fears about development pressure. The proposed rubbish transfer station is also of concern. Local residents perceive that the zoning ordinances lack the detail needed to require appropriate environmental impact assessment of proposals such as this and other large development.

Residents understand the need to facilitate appropriate development in the landscape and enhance people’s use of conservation areas. However, landscape analysis has been undertaken in a piecemeal manner. A comprehensive information system to guide decisions about natural resource protection would be extremely useful to Greater Cornwall. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are ideally suited to this purpose. The GIS would provide the raw material upon which development guidelines and standards could be based. In the session with developers, the team was told that they would welcome such standards and guidelines, which if adhered to, provide certainty that their projects will be undertaken. Similarly, future tourism operators such as innkeepers and trail guides need good information on which to base planning and promotion of a range of walking packages to suit local residents and visitors.

The network of public and privately owned green spaces that permeates Greater Cornwall is one of the community’s greatest assets, providing a scenic backdrop to the distinctive architecture of the area. This network performs a variety of vital functions including the wildlife habitats, storm water management, pollution control and scenic beauty. The north-south links in the network are vital to allow the vegetation crucial to this distinctive landscape to migrate and adapt in response to global warming. However, this network and its functions are not acknowledged explicitly in the Master Plan or zoning ordinances.

At meetings, residents, especially seniors, expressed concern about traffic safety and the need to “chip away” at the number of car-trips made per household per day. In built-up areas’ a pathway system could be developed, enabling people of all ages to access facilities around Main and Hudson Streets without having to rely on cars. This inner pathway system would need to be clearly marked and linked to the overall trail system serving the surrounding protected areas and hamlets.

There is no strategy to guide the management of the tree cover so essential to the character of settlements in Greater Cornwall.

In the future, residents would like to have more access to the “water attributes” in the community. They envision the stream behind Main Street as a place where people can stroll, sit and drink coffee. They would like greater access and transportation to the waterfront of the Hudson River facilities such as restrooms and refreshments. This was of particular concern to children and seniors, two groups who have less mobility to seek recreation outside the town. Potential obstacles to implementing community visions are the concerns about dredging in the river and the conditions of the deed granting the river park to the community. Greater Cornwall may be able to obtain funding and technical assistance to implement these visionary initiatives if the community supported the Hudson River Greenway Water Trail, which will stretch from Battery Park in the Village of Waterford to Battery Park in Manhattan. The project will include links from the water trail to other bicycle and walking paths in local urban communities.

There are gaps in the existing trail system that need to be connected to encourage return visitors and provide a variety of experiences. One group envisioned that Storm King State Park and Schunemunk Mountain would be linked – peak to peak – with a bike/walking trail that also connects up with urban pathways.

Over the long term, as visitors begin to generate more traffic and demand for services and facilities, the community will need to be proactive in seeking advice from other communities about taxes that alleviate the responsibility of residents. One example is an environmental tax on large visitor attractions. Another model is to fund public facilities with resident taxes, allowing residents to be admitted for free if accompanied by a visitor who pays normal entry charges.

Recommendations

1. Maintain the Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) elements of the GIS developed for Greater Cornwell.
2. Continually monitor environmental change and feed the results into NRIS. The Black Rock Forest Consortium has a great deal of historic data that can be used as a baseline against which to measure environmental change.
3. Make NRIS open and available to all via the internet, and/or at workstations in public buildings such as libraries.
4. Use NRIS to plot the green network that runs through every part of Greater Cornwall. Places where more than two strands cross are likely to be important nodes in this network and consideration should be given to protecting them using zoning or other tools.
5. Develop volunteer training and activity programs to facilitate community involvement in collecting and recording data. Explore the Chesapeake Bay monitoring program for ideas.
6. Review the network of trails that runs through Greater Cornwall and add new trails where there are gaps. Add new trails to link the network to trails in neighboring municipalities. A new approach to volunteerism is needed to facilitate this work as current efforts focus on single event activities such as litter pick-up
7. Develop new trails to link settlements to the trail network. Initially these may need to follow street alignments until agreements with private landowners are developed.
8. Provide a range of grades of urban pathways in Greater Cornwall. This will make the area attractive to users of all abilities including people with disabilities or seniors. It will also encourage all people to use the pathways and trails for a variety of activities; from afternoon walks with a young family to long distance, challenging, multi-day hikes.
9. Develop an urban pathway system based on existing roads and open space to link the community to schools and the wider trail system. In some cases this will necessitate the construction of under/over passes across Route 9W.
10. Use revenue from the “payment in lieu of parkland” provision to encourage developers to link the trails and sidewalks in their subdivisions to the trail network.
11. Link the trail network to public transportation such as passenger rail. This will make it more attractive for people who don’t own cars and/or want to take public transportation to visit Cornwall.
12. Commit to forming a volunteer partnership between the NY-NJ Trails Conference and young people to build a bike/walking trail between Storm King State Park and Schunemunk Mountain peaks.
13. Improve access to the Hudson River by providing a shuttle bus or trail to the wider area.
14. Develop a jetty to provide public access to the Hudson River.
15. Create a circular walking trail using Main Street and a new path along the Moodna Creek.
16. Research and provide zero emission public transport over the medium and long term to move residents and visitors around Greater Cornwall, provide links to passenger rail services, and neighboring municipalities.
17. Join the Hudson River Greenway Program and other compatible programs to take advantage of the technical support and financial incentives to assist in the development of trails and facilities (such as restrooms) in Greater Cornwall to serve residents and visitors.
18. Encourage environmental study facilities such as Black Rock Forest Consortium and The Museum of the Hudson Highlands to work together and with the School District to develop youth volunteer programs associated with environmental management such as trail building and maintenance, environmental monitoring, guiding visitors and replanting programs.
19. Appoint an environmental education coordinator to the School Board.
20. Develop partnerships with visitor attractions. Consider alternatives to fund infrastructure maintenance and public facilities for visitors. This will become very important as visitor numbers increase and there is a need for more parking, better roads and more facilities.
21. Develop an Urban Forestry Strategy for human settlements in Greater Cornwall. Include all trees regardless of ownership in the scope of the strategy.
22. Re-instate street trees on Main Street.
23. Reduce the pollution of the pond in River Light Park by using marginal vegetation to discourage Canada geese from using the pond.

General Appendix of contacts, useful web sites and established good practice (top of page)

Business Retention and Expansion Program:
In Canada
In the United States

Cornwall, Ontario

English Historic Towns Forum
Best Practice Documents on traffic management in historic main streets.

How Transportation & Community Partnerships are Shaping America
Part I – Transit Stops & Stations
Part II – Streets & Roads
Project for Public Spaces Inc.
153 Waverly Place
4th Floor
New York, NY 10014

Market Towns Toolkit

Ontario Investment Service

Public Parks Private Partners
How Partnerships are Revitalizing Urban Parks
Project for Public Spaces Inc.
153 Waverly Place
4th Floor
New York, NY 10014

Pumpkinfest

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